Taming the Flames
by xparamorexbabex
Summary: DustfingerxRoxane: Fire can be your best friend...or your worst enemy. But it can be tamed.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one!!!! me and my best friend, **hnm12318**, wrote this fanfic but i wrote this chapter!! XD

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Dustfinger heard the sweet sound of her voice. It was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. And she was more beautiful than her voice. He loved her long, black hair and her pretty brown eyes. But that's when he noticed all the people.

Staring. Gaping. Crowding. There was no point, Dustfinger thought. She had so many admirers; they stared at her all day, pleading for her. Dustfinger looked down at himself. Too plain, he thought. To scruffy, he thought. She didn't need him and never would.

Roxane. The name was as sweet as honey. But she would never be his. And he accepted it and walked away. He walked until he saw the Black Prince, his best friend, and the bear that never left his side.

"It's time," the Black Prince said. Dustfinger nodded and walked to the corner of the square he always preformed in. He took off his shirt as the Prince and the bear cleared room. Little kids gathered excitedly and sat down in a circle around him. Women and men slowly gathered as well.

The Prince nodded and Dustfinger began.

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Roxane was singing songs with her lovely voice. Yes, she thought it was lovely. No. She knew it was lovely and that she was too, for all the men adored her. She liked it, being adored, but not by them. These men were always pleading for her to sing and then tried to court her, but it annoyed her to no end. She did not need a man.

And when she did, she would know. She would know the first time she laid eyes on him that he was the one for her. She just knew.

Roxane noticed that the crowd of people listening to her slowly diminished until only four men remained. She stopped singing.

"Roxane," one pleaded. "Why have you stopped singing?"

"What has stolen everyone's attention away from me?" she asked another softly. She batted her eyelashes.

He blushed and stammered "Um…to see the fire dancer, Roxane. He's performing over there in that corner of the square."

Roxane was curious. She had never seen the fire dancer. She could hardly remember his name. But she knew who he was and that he was far better than Sootbird at his trade.

"Let's go see him," she crooned. "Please?" she added. The men quickly obeyed, only wanting to please her. They escorted her to the crowd and made way for her to see him.

And she did. She gaped and stared like the men did at her. And he didn't notice her. She wanted him to. She wanted him to adore her like everyone else. She wanted him to tell her how beautiful she was and how her voice sounded like bells. She needed him to tell her those things.

"Excuse me," she whispered to the man beside her "What is his name?"

"Dustfinger," he answered her "Dustfinger the fire dancer."

"Dustfinger," she whispered. She liked the way that sounded. Yes, she liked it quite well.

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reviews kick butt! :]


	2. Chapter 2

**hnm12318** wrote this chapter! yay for her ;]

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Dustfinger stood in the middle of an expectant crowd. He glanced over the sea of faces. The looks on their faces showed impatience. A few kids squirmed and wiggled.

"Fire," Dustfinger suddenly breathed, and a few children jumped, "can be your best friend". He snapped his fingers, whispered a few words and a flower made entirely of flames appeared. Slowly, he walked over to a young girl and presented the lily. She began to reach out, but Dustfinger pulled his hand back.

"Or your worst enemy" he whispered just loud enough for the people to hear. The flower shriveled up and died, suddenly flaring up into a giant bonfire. Dustfinger set the fire on the street, and it waited there for him. He quickly reached out to the side of him, where he kept his few belongings. "But it can be tamed," he said.

He grabbed a fire stick and plunged it into the flames. One end quickly caught, and as he began to twirl the stick around, the other did too. Dustfinger swirled it like a baton, like the searing hot fire would never hurt him. And it wouldn't- the fire was his friend. It obeyed him and could be predicted. _So unlike people_, Dustfinger thought. It seemed as though only an unloving thing would welcome his company this way.

His eyes searched the crowd. He could see the Black Prince grinning like a young boy and other spectators "ooohing" and "aahing" and comparing him to Sootbird. Children laughed and clapped giddily. Scanning farther to the right, Dustfinger noticed a woman.

And almost dropped his stick.

It was not only _a_ woman, it was Roxane.

Quickly, he recovered from the falter and continued juggling and breathing fire, careful to steal a peek that way again.

_But she was there_, he thought_, standing in the front row, watching _you_ and smiling too!_

_Oh stop it Dustfinger_, he told himself_, she was probably mocking your mistake. Now calm your stupid heart and move on._

He plastered a smile on his face and threw the stick in the air.

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"Dustfinger," Roxane murmured again. The name tasted red-hot, like the flames he so aptly controlled. It also tasted new and sweet, like a candy you had never eaten before. So much better than the flavor of her sung words. She attempted to inconspicuously study him.

His hair was quite long, falling and curling freely down to the base of his neck, and the color of ginger. It was damp with sweat and tangled around the ends. His face was flushed with the heat and there was an odd strained smile on it. She wondered what could be troubling him. The pressure of the crowd, possibly?

Whatever it was, she didn't like it. A true, warm smile would look wonderful on his face, especially directed at her. Those blue-grey eyes penetrating hers, staring into them for hours.

Roxane snapped out of it, realizing the show was over and she was the only one who wasn't applauding. She quickly started to and tried to rid the former thoughts from her mind. Why would this man want her? She suddenly felt lowly. He probably thinks me a conceited freak with too many men trailing after her, Roxane realized.

But why not prove him wrong? She thought. Why not show him the side of her that wasn't afraid to take charge? She would _make_ him notice her.

And she would do it soon.

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**hnm12318** needs luve! review plz!! =]


	3. Chapter 3

Dustfinger bowed his head as applause erupted all around him. The Black Prince collected money from the audience in a sack. When Dustfinger raised his head he glanced at Roxane. She wasn't clapping!

He wondered why. Did she not like the performance? Did she not like _him_??? Wait, he had already established that fact. _She's not for you, Dustfinger,_ he reminded himself. _Get over yourself!_

Just then Roxane began clapping at looked directly in his eyes. For a second he was so mesmerized by her stare he forgot everything and everyone around him. Roxane was anything and everything. What else was there? He felt dizzy. Why on earth was she staring at him? Had she gone mad? He was nothing. _Nothing_ compared to her. _Stop fooling yourself Dustfinger, _he thought. _She's just staring at you because you're so ugly! _She smiled at him.

SMILED?!?! What was wrong with this woman? Smiling at _him_???? Dustfinger? _Oh god I think I might faint, _Dustfinger thought.

Oh god no! Now she was standing up!! On her feet…WALKING towards him. As in repeatedly putting one foot in front of the other, still smiling, toward him. HIM?? Oh god he thought he might throw up. Or throw up and _then _faint. Or something! ANYTHING else than having to talk to…_her_. _Damn her! Damn her for walking!_ Dustfinger thought.

Roxane. Ah that name sounded so amazing! _She's not for you! Stop thinking that way! _ Oh god must he keep remind himself that? Was he really that lame?

_Damn! My knees are shaking! Stop it! _Dustfinger steadied himself and finally, after what seemed like ages, Roxane stopped about six inches from him.

He could just reach out and touch her hand…no. No he wouldn't. He wouldn't show ANYONE his emotions. Ever. He swore to that.

"Hi." Roxane said. Oh good lord, her voice. Dustfinger swayed on his feet. "I'm Roxane."

Aah the name! So beautiful… _Dustfinger-cool it! She's not yours._

"Ummm…" he stammered. Good God, he sounded dumb. "I'm Dustfinger."

Roxane flashed a smile. "I know."

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Where had her confidence gone to? Roxane was sure someone had stolen it. As soon as she saw Dustfinger, really saw him, she almost lost her cool. Because all she really wanted to do was grab him and shake him yelling "Why don't you love me???"

She decided that the only way to have him was to _make _him like her. So she decided to start by making him feel confident.

"So…" she started. "That show was amazing! I was hypnotized by the fire…When did you learn that?" she batted her eyelashes for good measure.

He blushed, looked down at his feet and shifted back and forth. "Ummm…" Oh god he was so adorable when he was nervous! "I learned when I was really little, before I joined the Motley Folk."

The Motley Folk. Could it be true? Was fate really this kind? It felt like the world had stopped. A thousand and one ways to lure Dustfinger to her came to her mind. _We practically live together,_ thought Roxane. _I'll be able to talk to him whenever I please._

"Do you still travel with the Motley Folk?" Roxane twirled her hair and tried to act nonchalant.

"Um…yes," Dustfinger stammered. "I perform at whatever village we stop in. It's how I make my living."

"How interesting…" Roxane said.

"Where do you live?" Dustfinger asked her.

"Oh I don't live in one particular place, which is why I find it strange we've never met before," Roxane said. "I travel with the Motley Folk, just like you do."

"That's great!" Dustfinger face lit up, or was she imagining it? She didn't know. But the warm smile she had been waiting for finally came and it was as marvelous as she hoped. "Now that we've met I guess we'll be seeing more of each other."

She smiled a warm smile at him. "I guess we will." _I'll make sure of it, _she added in her head.

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review!!!! the faster u review the faster i update :] tee hee


	4. Chapter 4

credit of this chap goes to **hnm12318**. *round of applause* and ill try and update soon!

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Dustfinger stumbled over to the raised platform where he had performed just five minutes before and sat down. _Was it really only five minutes?_ He asked himself. In those five minutes, he had just sustained a conversation with the woman of his dreams. At the thought, he almost fainted again. He put his head in his hands replayed the exchange over and over.

_She told me she would see me again! _Dustfinger recalled and could barely contain his happiness. The thought that he would talk to Roxane again made him ecstatic. He wondered when he would see her next. Would tonight be too bold?

Dustfinger cursed his lack of knowledge in the subject of romance. How was one to know what to do, how to talk, how to act? One thing Dustfinger did know was that all women appreciated flowers…or at least he thought they did. Would a simple flower be enough for someone as amazing as Roxane? He decided to go look for some and stood up.

"Dustfinger!" the Black Prince called as he turned to leave, "Beautiful performance! Look at all the coins we picked up! I say we will feast tonight. Come on, let's get back to camp." The Black Prince smiled.

Dustfinger hesitated. Should he tell the Black Prince about the events that just occurred? It seemed unlikely that he would understand. But he was Dustfinger's best friend.

"WellaftertheshowtodayIwastalkingtoRoxaneandsheaskedmetoseeherlatersoIwasgoingtopickupsomeflowersbecauseisntthatwhatcourtersdo? AnwayIdontthinkIcan-"

The Black Prince put up his hand to signal Dustfinger to stop. "Roxane?" he asked.

Dustfinger nodded slowly.

"Well, have fun with that!" the Black Prince laughed as he pushed Dustfinger toward the forest.

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Roxane was pacing back and forth in her tent. The ground was hard and cold beneath her feet and she wasn't wearing her overcoat, but she paid no attention to those small inconveniences. Shouldn't Dustfinger have showed up already?

Maybe she wasn't forward enough when she left. She thought back to her exchange with him. Did he not realize "I guess we will" meant "See you later tonight"? _Damn it, _she thought, _damn, damn, damn._ Dustfinger might never show up. He did seem very nervous-did she frighten him away?

Roxane didn't know what to think anymore and was contemplating getting ready for bed when there was a soft call from outside, hardly louder than a whisper.

"Roxane?" it ventured.

Her heart skipped a few beats with delight, then miraculously started again just in time for her to hear footsteps slowly padding away.

"Wait, wait! Who's there?" she asked, hoping she already knew the answer.

Roxane thought she heard someone tripping over a rock and then: what she'd been waiting to hear.

"Um, it's, uh, Dustfinger. I'm really sorry if I came too late, I-I-I just needed to give you something." Muttered swearing followed.

She smiled in joy then pulled the tent opening apart and walked outside with the grin still on her face. "I'd been wishing all day that you'd show up! It's like you read my mind," she laughed.

Her mood seemed to make Dustfinger less tense. "Well, yes," he began, "I wanted to see you again, too. And I brought you these, well, flowers…" He pulled the biggest bouquet of lilies she had ever seen from behind his back and handed them to her. "I didn't know if you would like them or not, but I didn't know what else to give you…" Dustfinger turned away from her.

Roxane stared at the bunch of flowers in her arms. How did he know they were her favorite? And the fact that he even _got_ her a gift, _that he liked her back_; Roxane's eyes started to tear, something they almost never did.

Dustfinger turned back around and his eyes opened wide when he saw her tears. "Oh! I'm so sorry! God, I'm stupid. I should've known you wouldn't like them. Here, I'll take them back and leave you alone." He reached for the flowers.

"What? No, no, no I love the flowers! They're absolutely beautiful! And my favorite kind. Thank you!" Roxane smiled.

Dustfinger looked confused. "Are you sure?" he questioned.

Roxane took that question to heart. Was she sure this was what she wanted? To stop her flirtatious ways, and actually focus on someone important? How did she know if it would all work out?

She looked Dustfinger straight in the eye and said, "I'm positive."

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review review review! or we shall stop writing!


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